Gabrielle and Joxer
by Tonee Rhian Rose
Summary: This is the sequel to my story Gabrielle and the Three Brothers. I hope you all enjoy it.
1. Chapter 1

_**Gabrielle and Joxer  
**__**by Tonee Rhian Rose**_

This story is the sequel to Gabrielle and the Three Brothers. It is loosely based on the Brother's Grimm story Jorinda and Joringle.

**Author's note:** These characters don't belong to me. Only the characters Solaris and Neona are my creations.

_**Chapter 1**_

Once there was a small cottage with a vineyard in Amphipolis, Greece. It belonged to Hera who had enchanted it. Anyone who came within one hundred paces of the cottage, he was made to stand still until she set them free, and when she did that, she'd set her harpies loose on the poor fellow who would then be torn apart. Any maiden who came close to the cottage would be changed into a bird and then shut up in a gilded cage and placed inside a room in the cottage. She had about five hundred rare birds.

Joxer and Gabrielle were celebrating their engagement with their friends Xena, Hercules, Iolaus, Jason, Iphicles, Amphion, Leah (his wife), Princess Diana and Prince Philemon, Priestess Leah, Salmoneus, Falafel, Autolycus, Minya, Meg, and Gabrielle's sister Lila at Xena's mom, Cyrene's tavern. They decided they needed some alone time to talk about their wedding plans, so they went for a walk in the forest. They had been walking for what seemed like hours when they came upon a fork in the road.

'Which way should we go?' asked Joxer.

Gabrielle thought for a moment and said, 'Let's go to the left.'

After a while, Joxer was noticing that it was getting difficult for him to move. 'What in Tartarus is going on?' he asked as he tried to pull his legs free. When he looked back up, he discovered that Gabrielle had disappeared and flying in her place was a beautiful bluebird. 'Gabrielle! Where are you!' he shouted.

Suddenly, the bird started to sing this little song,

'_I am just a little bird  
__And you can see me fly.  
__Though I'm just a little bird,  
__My love for you will fill the sky. _

_The enchanted hour, remember love has power,  
__So never fear, should you shed a tear,  
__Remember the red flower.  
__Your love's magic  
__Lies in flower power.'_

Hera, who was watching all this transpire, came down from the clouds and shut Gabrielle up in a gilded cage. Then she set Joxer free and called her harpies to chase him down. He took off running back towards the tavern. The harpies threw their stone-like feathers at him, but luckily he was able to avoid them by running in a zigzag pattern. When he looked back to see where the harpies were, he tripped over a large tree root, hit his head, and fell unconscious.

Hearing Joxer's cries for help, Hercules, Iolaus, and Xena came running out of the tavern. When they saw him lying on the ground about to be attacked by harpies, they took action. Xena drew her sword and threw her shakram. It smashed against several trees and chopped a couple of their heads off before returning to her outstretched hand. Iolaus drew his sword as well and swung it at them cutting off a couple of their wings.

The three remaining harpies flew into the air. They launched their stone-like feathers at them. All three dived behind the trees. Xena threw her shakram one more time. It clipped all of their wings and they fell out of the air. Hercules emerged from his hiding spot and smashed their heads in killing them. Then they gathered Joxer up and carried him back to the tavern.

They placed him on a bed, and a young girl named Solaris, who worked there, tended to his wounds. He'd been clawed badly by the harpies' sharp talons and he had a large lump on his head from where he had hit it. She had met him a long time ago when she was traveling with Xena and Gabrielle. She used to travel with her cousin Hercules, Iolaus, and her identical half-sister Neona; who was Iolaus' girlfriend, but she left them shortly after meeting Xena.

She had dated him for several years, even though she knew that he'd loved Gabrielle from the beginning, it didn't matter to her. However, after Gabrielle had been crucified by Caesar, and then brought back to life by Eli, she encouraged him to tell her how he felt because he might not ever have another chance. Even though it meant that they might no longer be together, Sola; as she was called by everyone; still loved him and would do anything to see him happy, even if that meant that she could no longer be with him.

Sola was a half-goddess. Her father was the god Morpheus; the god of dreams, and her mother was a mortal named Helia after the sun god Helios. She had inherited a power she called dream walking. She could go into a person's dreams and help them. She asked to be alone with Joxer, and everyone left. She placed a hand on his forehead, and instantaneously she was transported into his dream. What she saw broke her heart.

Gabrielle was transformed into a bluebird who sang this song,

'_I am just a little bird  
__And you can see me fly.  
__Though I'm just a little bird,  
__My love for you will fill the sky. _

_The enchanted hour, remember love has power,  
__So never fear, should you shed a tear,  
__Remember the red flower.  
__Your love's magic  
__Lies in flower power.'_

Joxer was helpless to stop it. 'GABRIELLE! NOOOOO!' he shouted.

Then he started running from the harpies. At this point, Sola stepped in and slew them.

Joxer collapsed and started crying, 'Gabrielle, I'm sorry! I failed you!'

Sola crouched down beside him and said softly, 'No, my dear friend, you haven't. There's still hope to save her. All you have to do now is wake up.' With that, Joxer opened his eyes. There stood Sola smiling down at him. 'You gave us quite a scare,' she said. She called everyone back into the room and left to get more clean cloths and fresh water.

Xena asked, 'What happened to you out there? Where's Gabrielle?'

Joxer replied, 'I'm not exactly sure what happened. I can sort of remember being chased and bumping my head, but not much else.'

Sola said, 'I can help you with that. When I was in your dream, I saw Gabrielle transform into a bluebird and she was singing this song,

"___I am just a little bird  
__And you can see me fly.  
__Though I'm just a little bird,  
__My love for you will fill the sky. _

_The enchanted hour, remember love has power,  
__So never fear, should you shed a tear,  
__Remember the red flower.  
__Your love's magic  
__Lies in flower power."_

'I've heard rumors of a certain part of the forest being enchanted by Hera cause she owns a small vineyard on the edge of it. Any man who comes within one hundred paces of it is made to stand still until she wills him to move, but any maiden who comes too close is transformed into a bird. She then locks the bird in a cage and keeps it in a cottage on the property. What she does with them, I have no idea. After she sets the men free, she calls her harpies to chase them down and rip them to shreds, so it's a good thing you got there when you did.'

Hercules said, 'I'll go and rescue Gabrielle and these other women.'

Sola said, 'No, it has to be Joxer. Only his love for Gabrielle can set them free. However, he isn't well enough to travel just yet, so I'm afraid that she'll have to stay there for the time being.'

'Sola, how do you know all this?' asked Iolaus.

'My father is Morpheus, the god of dreams. He's why I have the power to "walk" into anyone's dreams. Gabrielle's song tells you everything you need to know. Only a blood-red flower with a dew drop the size of a pearl can free these girls,' she said.

Hercules said, 'Tell me where I can find such a flower, and I'll go and save these girls!'

'My dear cousin, you don't understand, only Joxer's love for Gabrielle can produce such a flower. When his tears of love touch the enchanted ground, a flower will appear and that will break the spell. However, as I said, he is in no condition to go anywhere just yet.'

Weeks went by, and Joxer's dreams were plagued with nightmares of Gabrielle being transformed into a bird and of being chased by Hera's harpies. One day, he was helping Sola pick strawberries. Suddenly, he got an image of Gabrielle and he leaned over and kissed her, but when he opened his eyes and discovered that it was Sola he had kissed instead of his beloved Gabrielle, he became embarrassed and dropped the basket of strawberries he was holding.

He ran back to the tavern and locked himself in his room. 'What am I doing?' he thought ashamedly. 'How could I kiss someone else?'

End of Chapter 1.


	2. Chapter 2

_**Chapter 2**_

Sola had followed him back to the tavern. When she discovered that he'd locked the door, she softly tapped on it and said, 'Joxer? Are you okay?' She got no answer. 'Joxer, please talk to me? I completely understand what happened. My father explained it to me once that if a person doesn't get enough sleep that their dreams can bleed into reality. They start seeing things that aren't there. C'mon, please open the door?'

Joxer slowly opened the door and pulled her inside. 'I don't know what's happening to me. I keep getting these images in my head that I'm never going to see my beloved Gabrielle again,' he said as he began to cry.

Sola took him in her arms and said, 'Joxer, you mustn't think those thoughts. We will get her back. As soon as you feel ready to go, Hercules and I will come with you to help you. Do you remember what I said to you when you decided to tell her how you felt?'

Joxer said, 'Yeah, you told me that as long as I was happy, then you'd be happy.'

'And I meant it. Joxer, you are my very best friend and I love you very much, so that's why I'm going to help you get her back. Now get some sleep and we'll set off in the morning, okay?'

Joxer nodded his head. As she was leaving, Joxer called out, 'Sola?'

She popped her head back in and said, 'Yes, Joxer?'

'Thanks for being my friend. I don't know what I'd do without you,' he said as a tear rolled down his cheek.

Sola walked over to him, hugged him and said, 'I'll always be there for you, you know that. Now get some sleep, we have a busy day ahead of us.'

The next morning, Joxer, Sola, and Hercules set out for the vineyard. Xena desperately wanted to go with them, but Hercules and Sola explained to her that because she was mortal, she'd get turned into a bird like Gabrielle did, and that because they were both half-gods, that the magic probably wouldn't effect them. Xena agreed, and they left.

When they got to the spot, Joxer was finding it difficult to move. Sola sent Hercules off to scout ahead. 'Joxer, now you're gonna have to cry. When your tears touch the ground, a red flower will spring up. When that happens, I will pick it and when I touch you, you should be able to move. This will also keep Hera's harpies from attacking us, but you must hurry before she appears.'

No sooner had she said those words, a pair of peacock feathers shaped like eyes appeared in the sky. 'SOLARIS! WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?' boomed the voice of Hera.

'I'm here to put a stop to you enchanting this forest and to release those poor young women you've changed into birds,' Sola shouted back.

At this point, Hera came down from the clouds. She set Joxer free and then she released her harpies upon him. Joxer ran as fast as he could, and Sola was right behind him, with the harpies in hot pursuit. Hera was laughing maniacally. Sola came to a screeching halt. 'Hide behind this tree!' she shouted at Joxer.

She turned to face the harpies. She had three weapons which were designed by Hephaestus. The first was a sun shield which she used to block the harpies stone-like feathers which they threw at her like darts. One feather grazed her left leg.

'Are you alright?' asked Joxer concerned.

'Yeah, it's just a scratch,' said Sola. 'Just stay there behind the tree.'

He nodded his head in agreement and continued to watch with great concern and admiration for his friend. The second weapon was a crossbow that no matter how bad her aim was, it would always find its target. With a twang! whoosh! thud! she managed to pin the five harpies to trees. With her hypnotic powers she'd inherited from her father Morpheus, she put them in a trance. With the third and final weapon; a lunar sword that glowed blue like the moon whenever Hera's harpies were near; she cut off each of their heads.

She turned to Joxer, 'You can come out now, it's safe,' she said as she slid her sword back into its scabbard, strapped her shield to her back, and took her crossbow in her right hand.

'Are you sure?' asked Joxer as he emerged cautiously from his hiding spot. 'There might be more of them.'

Sola laughed and said, 'Yes, my dear friend, I'm sure, but just in case, I have my trusty crossbow.' She took hold of his hand and said, 'We'll need to hold hands so we don't get separated.'

They started walking back towards the vineyard. Soon it was getting difficult for Joxer to move again. 'You need to cry Joxer!' she said.

'I don't know if I can,' he said.

'You're going to have to if you want to save Gabrielle!' she shouted. 'Quickly, here come the harpies!' She shot at them with her magic crossbow. Each time a bolt left it, another would appear in its place like Cupid's bow.

Joxer thought about how he'd never be able to see Gabrielle again, about how he would never hold or kiss her ever again. Soon, tears were flowing down his cheeks. As they splashed upon the ground, blood-red flowers with dew drops the size of a pearl magically grew. Sola promptly picked them, and the harpies disappeared. When she touched Joxer, he was able to move.

Hercules came walking towards them. 'What's taking you two so long?' he asked.

'Well, for starters,' Sola explained, 'Hera sent her harpies after us, and I had to fight them. Then I had to get Joxer to cry; which is not as easy as you might think by the way; while I held off more harpies so we could get these magical flowers.'

Joxer said, 'Now let's go save those girls!'

Sola handed him the flowers and said, 'You need these to keep Hera's harpies at bay, and to set the girls free. You'll have to touch their cages.' She turned to Hercules and asked, 'How far is it to the cottage?'

'It's about an hour from here,' he said.

'Well, what are we waiting for?' asked Joxer, 'Time's a wastin''

End of Chapter 2.


	3. Chapter 3

_**Chapter 3**_

Soon, they were at the cottage. Guarding the entrance were two minotaurs. 'Joxer, you go save those girls. We'll hold them off,' said Sola.

'But they'll beat me to a bloody pulp!' exclaimed Joxer.

'No they won't! Not as long as you hold those flowers! Now GO!' she shouted.

Joxer took off towards the cottage. The minotaurs charged towards him, but they couldn't get within five feet of him for there was a barrier around him. Joxer went inside.

Hercules fought the larger of the two minotaurs and Sola fought the smaller using her sword and shield. Xena had taught her how to do flips. She did a no-handed cartwheel; kicking him in the face. He stumbled backwards. Meanwhile, Hercules was punching the other one in the face. Soon, Sola and Hercules were back to back. They turned slightly to look at each other. Sola smiled at him in agreement for she knew what he wanted to do. They'd done it before against another pair of minotaurs when they were searching for the Sword of Veracity.

They linked their arms and Hercules flipped Sola over his head. She kicked the smaller one in the face and landed a kick on top of the larger one's head knocking them both out. Then they went inside the cottage to look for Joxer. They found him surrounded by the girls. He had them singing,

'_Joxer the Mighty  
__He came to set us free  
__We were transformed into birds  
__But he listened to Gabby's words_

_She told him to never fear  
__Should he ever shed a tear  
__Flower power set us free  
__Cause of Joxer's love for Gabby  
__He's Joxer, Joxer the Mighty!'_

Sola started laughing. 'Looks like Joxer's got quite a following, wouldn't you say?' she said to Gabrielle.

'Yes, I'd say so. I'm just glad this whole ordeal is over so we can go home,' she said.

'It's not over yet,' said Hercules. 'We still have Hera to deal with.'

'Can't you talk to Zeus? You know, get her to tone it down just a bit? I mean this is ridiculous, even by her standards,' said Sola.

'You know what he's like. Sometimes he'll listen, and sometimes he won't,' he said.

'Well, what do you propose we do then?' she asked.

'We're going to raze this cottage to the ground and destroy her vineyard by salting the earth so nothing will grow here again. If she wants a vineyard, she'll have to grow it someplace else,' he said.

Sola said, 'I'll run back to Cyrene's and get the salt and some torches.' She was off like a flash. She ran as gracefully as a gazelle. She burst in through the door which surprised Xena.

'What happened? Is everyone alright?' she asked.

Sola smiled and said, 'Yes, everyone is okay. Joxer set all the girls free. I'm just here to get some salt and torches cause we're gonna burn the cottage, and destroy the vineyard. You guys are welcome to come and help us. The forest is no longer enchanted.'

Xena and Iolaus went with Sola back to the cottage. Soon it was on fire. Sola had brought a couple of baskets, and she picked as many grapes as they could hold, before they burned them too. Then they took the salt and spread it all over the ground.

Two days later, Joxer and Gabrielle were married by Amphion. They went on to have many, many children, and they lived happily ever after.

_**THE END**_


End file.
